The Parlor Mob will finally be in Pittsburgh on Friday, April 10.

In my heart of hearts, I think I would like this band even if one of my best friends wasn’t in it. I’ve brought them up before (and have them linked on the right of this page), but it is now particularly relevant because they’ll be in Pittsburgh for the first time at Mr. Small’s on April 10 with The London, Wonderlion and 9Sundays. This is cool for me because it’s hard to get my NJ/NY friends over here, even with promises of sandwiches with french fries and coleslaw on them and just overall good times with yours truly.

Now, I know I should have posted this stuff when it happened, but it was at the end of a bad week and I never got around to it. I went to two shows back to back which kind of got my mind off things.  In a slight change of plans on Thursday, March 5, I flew to Philadelphia and met up with my old college chum Andy. He picked me up from the airport and we proceeded to the Khyber. (Now I’m starting to see the point of keeping up with your blog in a timely manner – I can’t remember what one of the opening bands was called. I wasn’t that into it anyway.) I had listened to one of the opening bands, American Buffalo, online before the show and didn’t think I cared to be at the venue in time to see them. I ended up catching most of their set. They were all total babes and at least one of them looked like he really knew it and that bugged me.  I saw him really working it with one girl, so you know what, way to go, guy. They were better than I expected but as I said, I had very low expectations.

I stood off to the side on the edge of a staircase for The Parlor Mob. I enjoyed watching the crowd get excited (but not getting the drunk girl in front of me’s hair in my mouth). I think the guys were under the impression that this was not a good performance, but I overheard a girl say, “This is the best show I have been to in my life.”

I hitched a ride with the guys back to Jersey. It was weird to go back to my hometown.  The homecoming show at The Stone Pony on March 6 was quite a contrast from the previous night’s show. The venue was a lot bigger than I remembered but it was pretty packed. I don’t think I had been there since I was in high school, and Asbury Park is starting to look really different. I drank beers and looked around nervously for people who might recognize me but barely talked to anyone but my best friend, Julie. I’m pretty sure she hadn’t seen them perform since they were called What About Frank? She was sick and I was tired, so while we were not a total ball of fun, the band was energetic and sounded and looked fantastic.

Here’s a video from Thursday night of “Everything You’re Breathing For”:

Here’s a short clip of the beginning of their Friday night encore of an old song, “Safer in September”:

If you want to see their real videos, here is Hard Times. Here’s the video for Can’t Keep No Good Boy Down. It kind of looks like a GAP ad but I love this song.

If you like what you see/hear, their show at Small’s is only $8.

Sometimes Pittsburgh doesn’t seem so bad: The Meeting of Important People w/ Mariage Blanc & The Red Western

In the time line of my life, I think last week may go down as being somewhat historic. Just putting that out there for preservation purposes. The end cap to that week was The Meeting of Important People’s CD release at the Brillobox on Saturday. I missed my friend Ben H.’s art event at the BoxHeart in favor of a 30 minute nap which left me none the more well-rested and then marched like a zombie to the show. I cannot articulate how glad I was that I didn’t just skip it, instead sacrificing my physical welfare to be thoroughly entertained. Things that led me to this decision was the fact that Mariage Blanc was opening and Andu did this glowing write up.

I skipped out on most of The Red Western so I could girltalk with book a week geek outside, standing downwind from all of the smokers and cackling like a hyena. I have seen The Red Western with Mariage Blanc before, so I wasn’t sweating it. The girl has a lovely voice and adorable dresses.

Mariage Blanc was great, as usual. I always love the trumpet and feel lucky that I have gotten to watch them progress as a band.

I had only heard The Meeting of Important People’s Myspace page songs on Friday, but I knew I would regret it if I didn’t make it out. I ended up buying their album, even though I had to borrow five dollars from Josh K. (it was only$8…I’m just a pauper). Something about the singer, Josh Verbanets, reminded me of the guy from Kings of Leon. I think it was just how is face is shaped. Anyway, they seemed to really be having fun and seemed like nice guys, which made me really happy because I’m such a Pollyanna.

I got to briefly meet Josh because he asked if I was Andy’s girlfriend (oops, sorry Pammu!) and I got to thank him for a wonderful show. A bunch of friends were around and everyone was feelin’ fine (especially Chris Ryan), so I socialized until I started to feel woozy and had to go to bed.

Here’s a short video of The Meeting of Important people’s encore, “Down in the Hollow.” The picture is a bit dark, and if I am able to lighten it up later, I’ll repost it. It’s not thrilling because I was front and center, so I just held the camera at my chest, but it’s a cute little song.

The point is, go get their CD.

Mishap in the Kitchen: Cheesecake Bars (& Stuffed Chicken Breasts)

Yesterday was Pete’s birthday, and in an attempt to get back into the swing of things, I wanted to cook something. A girl can only live on free burritos for so long. After scouring the internet, I found two recipes: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars and Chicken Breast Stuffed with Spinach, Bleu Cheese and Bacon.

First, I made the cheesecake bars because they would need longer to cool. I figured this recipe would yield much more than Pete could ever eat, so I would bring some to work (at both jobs) to share with my work buds. Wanting to suck up to my boss, who is allergic to eggs, I attempted to replace them with flax seed meal and warm water, seen to the right.

For the bottom layer, I mixed one box of chocolate cake mix, 1/2 cup of melted butter, and the equivalent of one egg. So far, so good.

For the cheesecake layer, I combined 8 oz. of cream cheese, one cup of peanut butter, the equivalent of two eggs, about 16 oz. of powdered sugar and a 1/2 cup of melted butter, topping it off with a 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips.

Here, you can see the flax seed meal. “Binding agent” my foot! Those seeds didn’t bind shit!

In fact, after baking for like 25-30 minutes of the 50-55 at 350 degrees, that shit practically exploded!

So, while the consistency was totally wrong, it actually still tasted pretty decent. But jesus. At least I got to use my new spatula that Kelly gave me for my birthday. Check out my finger that I slammed in a door last week! It is the opposite of appetizing:

Next – turn away vegetarians! – I ventured on to the chicken breasts, fresh off of my dessert failure. I think this is the first time I’ve posted a recipe that is not vegan, let alone one that has meat in it. Rejoice, carnivores!

I pounded the four chicken breasts, but I don’t think I really got them thin enough. Struggling to care anymore, I prepared the 8 slices of bacon, which kind of sucked. I really could have sprang the extra $.50 to get a name brand or something. I defrosted the 10 oz. package of chopped spinach in the microwave, and because the Shur Save shur didn’t have bleu cheese, I substituted a cup of mozzarella instead, mixing that with the spinach and crumbled bacon. Here they are before they were rolled in flour, salt and pepper. They should have been secured with toothpicks, but I couldn’t find them at the store either.

I quickly browned the tops and bottoms in a frying pan with olive oil before putting them in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Here’s the final product, along with a salad of romaine lettuce, dried cranberries, apple, a little bit of cheddar and balsamic vinaigrette.

I thought these were all right. I’ve had an aversion to spinach since childhood. I vividly remember leaving my bowl unattentended on the kitchen table, going into my bedroom to witness a bird that had hooked onto the screen of my window, and then coming back to my spinach that had been sabotaged with hot sauce by either my older brother or sister. Anyway…Pete liked them and ate almost two (!) before practically losing consciousness, so happy birthday Pete!

Random things about The Wire

I’m watching this series for the first time and am just about to finish season four. I like coming in late on these critically acclaimed shows because then I can just blast through them and get the instant gratification of knowing what happens next. You don’t need me to tell you how good The Wire is. Everything you already heard is true. It’s brilliantly written with an incredible cast. Now let me say some stupid things.

I love the kids in this season. When one of them would smile, it reminded me of someone. During the episode where Prezbo is buying candy for him online, it hit me: Randy reminds me of JTT circa Home Improvement, ALSO NAMED RANDY. Their mouths curl up in the same way and their eyes get really squinty. Am I the only person on earth who thinks this?

Yesterday, I was thinking that I kind of had a crush on Bodie but was afraid that he was way younger than me or something. It turns out Bodie is a grown ass man! He was born in 1978! What boyish good looks! Here is a picture of Greggs creeping up on my man. We have a similar thing going on so I can easily imagine that it is me if I want to:

When searching for this picture, I found out that Bodie was on The Kill Point. Fuck! I could have been fucking dating Bodie while he was in Pittsburgh! Omar was on this show too, and the stupid white guy Bubbles hung out with is the second guy in this picture:

The downside of getting into a show too late.

Watching & Wary: New Works by Ben Kehoe

On Friday night, I went to Beleza Community Coffeehouse for Ben Kehoe’s art opening, Watching & Wary. I would probably have never gone to this coffeehouse otherwise, and though it is only in the North Side, it feels like it somehow removed from Pittsburgh. It’s a welcoming spot for neighborhood kids and seems to be staffed by nice people. While I was there, they were playing Neko Case and Wolf Parade, which pleased me to no end. Also, their website has a cute origami crane navigation menu as well as real cranes in their shop. This overwhelms me with a strange sense of happiness.

Look at this precious sign:

Appetizers included orange slices, popcorn, peanuts, and some sort of delicious pesto/pastry squares and seitan wings that some people brought in. If you’re the guy that made those and you are reading this, please tell me how they were so good. If I had thought about it I definitely would have baked something. Sigh. I had a French soda and denied my desire for a delicious looking cinnamon bun they had in their pastry display. Anyway, a lot of good folks came out to support Ben. I met his mother, who talks like my mom but looks a lot fancier. Man, Korean moms are hilarious. Also, there were two adorable babies there and it was like a baby party. These were two of the best hours I’ve had in an otherwise dark chapter of despair.*

Artist’s statement:

Ben Kehoe is an artist living and working in Pittsburgh. Watching & Wary was inspired by watching way too many nature programs and wondering whether the roles ever get reversed. Maybe some unseen creature is observing you go about your day.  A rabbit is watching you water your lawn, a mouse is watching you build an IKEA futon or maybe a squirrel is watching you flex madly into a mirror. Who knows what these creatures see or what they think of us…but they are watching and probably find us to be the strangest creatures of all.

Here is the original flier:

I definitely recommend making it out there by April 9th.

*Sorry, I’m a bummer.

Last night I saw Busta Rhymes on a boat.

I don’t think I really have to say more. But I will. Write up, more photos and video clips after the jump.

Two weekends ago in review: Encyclopedia Destructica’s Volume Coatlicue 2 & Episode 80 of The J. Pitts Show

February 27^th feels like a decade ago. That Friday night, I went to the Brillobox for Encyclopedia Destructica’s 20^th book release and 4th birthday, those prolific little publishers.  Friends Ben Hernstrom, Ben Kehoe and Mike Woodfill are included in this volume. There were readings by boice-Terrel Allen, Red Bob, Kristofer Collins, and Michelle Stoner. The room was set up similarly to the Open Thread event but was much more significantly packed. I think it could have benefited from either not having seating in the front (or at least no tables) or being in a slightly bigger venue. A lot of people were talking towards the back at a normal volume which made it frustrating to hear the readings, particularly Red Bob (I THINK), who already had a sore throat. Someone kept yelling for them to turn it up, and he just said to listen harder. The favorite quote I can still remember from the top of my head right now is when he said, “I’ve got to turn the page…see what else the fuck I wrote.”

On Saturday, I went over to the Nice Record Workshop for the 80^th episode of The J. Pitts Show podcast, Label of the Hour: Bad Boy Records.  I think I had only been to one taping a long time ago, because it’s mostly a boys club. I insisted that I should be able to attend this one because of my expansive Diddy knowledge and impressed everyone with my lyrical genius. Anyway, this episode is worth listening to if only to hear J. Pitts and Nice Rec do karaoke to Biggie songs. As their sidekick Jerome quotes in the episode, “I never thought hip hop would take it this far.”

TTYL Dad

12/26/47 – 3/1/09